Wall Street up as Google, Caterpillar offset Apple's drop

Investors focused instead on increased price targets for Google , which reports later this week, and Dow component Caterpillar , whose results are due next week.

Shares of Apple Inc slipped 2.3 percent to $340.65 ahead of its quarterly earnings, after the company said Jobs is taking his third medical leave since 2004.

Shares of the bellwether technology company pared earlier losses and eased pressure on stock indexes. Apple has about a 21 percent weighting in the Nasdaq 100 , which edged up 0.2 percent.

To me, it seemed like the news was troubling for the company, but it's Apple, it ain't going to matter, said Stephen Massocca, managing director of Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.

After the closing bell, Apple Inc reported better-than-expected revenue, fueled by blockbuster holiday sales of the iPhone and iPad, sending shares up 4.3 percent to $355.22 in extended trade.

Before the earnings were released, Massocca had said he believed the iPad maker would report strong results and shorts will be picking shards of glass out of their eyes.

During the regular session, the news about Apple and its stock decline were offset by a gain in shares of Google, up 2.5 percent at $639.63. Google's stock advanced after several brokerages raised their price target on the company's stock ahead of the world's No. 1 Internet search engine's earnings later this week.

The Dow also rose moderately, boosted by gains in Caterpillar Inc . The heavy equipment maker's stock was up 2.8 percent at $96.23 after Raymond James raised its price target to $116 from $95.

Also lifting the Dow was Boeing Co , which gained 3.4 percent to $72.47 after the plane maker alleviated fears about the delivery schedule of its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner jet.

After the close, International Business Machines Corp advanced 2.7 percent to $154.70 after the company reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit.

Optimism about earnings has helped bolster stocks in recent weeks, with the S&P 500 posting its seventh straight week of gains on Friday.

Aside from Apple, gains were tempered in regular trading by Citigroup Inc . Shares of Citigroup fell 6.4 percent to $4.80 after the No. 3 U.S. bank reported a sharp drop in bond trading revenue that pushed profits below expectations.

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